A visit from Gigi and Mr. Don

Gigi and Mr. Don were able to come visit on Jonas's actual birthday!

Jonas got a metal detector that will be super-fun at the beach.

 We took the kids on the River Boat ride.

 And then walked down the river to Rainforest Cafe.

 The birthday boy!

 This was our first visit in lots of years so everything was very exciting!

 We stopped in at the bar.

 These children ate a TON of food!

 Jonas's surprise birthday dessert!

 He was pretty excited!

Thanks, Gigi and Don, for making Jonas's day extra-special!

Donuts!

Apparently I took the kids to get donuts for Jonas's birthday!  Who knew?

The birthday boy.  Is he really already 6???

 There's no stopping this kid from digging in!

 Our serious child.

 Last but not least...

 Nailed this group shot.

 They could watch the assembly line for HOURS.  I should bring a book next time..

This was  a great way to kick off a birthday!  We were anxiously awaiting the arrive of Gigi and Mr. Don in the afternoon!

South Texas Maize

In November, Kristina and I took the kids to Homeschool Day at the South Texas Maize.  It fell on a preschool day, and we were glad to have the big kids (and Lily).  The maize was crowded, with a long line to get tickets, but not nearly as bad as the Sea World Homeschool Day!

First item up for business, group photos while the moms waited in line.

First, just the boys; the girls were checking out the bathrooms.

All 5!  What great friends we've made this year!  How did I ever homeschool without these other 2 families?

 Climbing on hay bales.  See that big slide in the back?

 We splurged and got the package that included all activities, including this slide.  They loved it!

 The bouncing pillows.  This was our first time trying these out.

After all that fun, we headed to the actual maze.  There were 2 sides to the maze.  The first side we tried was so hard that we walked in the same circle over and over!  Luckily we were able to figure the second side out!

Taking my inspiration from the Crafton family, who always do a silly picture!  Obviously Molly and Jonas were too cool for this.

We had a great day and can't wait to go next year!

New Camera!

So Troy got me a new camera for my birthday!  I was so excited and spent the afternoon taking this randomness.

Reef loves board games, especially when no one else knows how to play.  This enhances his chances of winning!

 She has to get her own game out, or it's no fun for anyone.

 Heading outside to try out the camera... I know it's fast and I think the colors are better too!

 I kind of love this...And, yeah, those are her pajamas.

 We found a tarantula

 Eli liked it..a lot...

Shirt Twins!

Lachlan was pretty excited that he had the same shirt as Opa!